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Dog age and calorie calculators
Work out your dog's age in human years, and a sensible daily calorie figure with the food weight that goes with it. Both run in your browser.
How old is your dog in human years?
Pick the breed or the size, then enter the age.
How many calories does your dog need?
A daily starting point, and how much food that is.
This is general information, not veterinary advice. For a dog with a medical condition, a very large weight to lose, or a growing giant-breed puppy, ask your vet for a plan.
How the numbers are worked out
Calories. We start from resting energy, 70 times the weight in kilograms to the power of 0.75, which is the standard veterinary starting point. We then multiply it by a factor for the life stage: about 3 for a young puppy, 2 for a growing puppy, 1.6 for a neutered adult and 1.8 for an entire adult, with a little more or less for activity. For weight loss we use resting energy for the target weight.
Age. The size-based figure counts 15 years for the first year, 9 for the second, then 4, 5, 6 or 7 a year for small, medium, large and giant dogs. The second figure uses a formula from a 2020 study of how DNA changes with age in Labradors. It does not know about size.
More: how to tell if your dog is the right weight, a weight-loss plan, feeding through the life stages and walking a senior dog.
Questions
Is the calorie figure right for my dog?
It is a starting point. Individual dogs differ by around 20 percent either way. Weigh your dog every two weeks, feel for the ribs under a thin layer of fat, and change the portion by about 10 percent if the weight is moving the wrong way.
Which calorie number do I use for the food?
The energy value is printed on the bag or the tin as kcal per 100 g, or sometimes kcal per kg. Divide a per-kg figure by ten. If you cannot find it, ask the manufacturer. How to read a dog food label.
Should I use this for a sick or pregnant dog?
No. Dogs with kidney, heart or liver disease, diabetes, or pregnant or nursing bitches, need a plan from a vet.
Is one dog year really seven human years?
No. That rule is a very rough average. Dogs mature fast in the first two years and then age at a rate that depends on size, with giant breeds ageing faster than small ones.
Also useful: the breed quiz · your saved breeds.